Miami Heat Fall to Atlanta in OT, Suffer Fourth-Straight Loss

While LeBron James was all healed up from his ankle injury and back on the court, it was Chris Bosh who was forced to sit out with a bum ankle. So we all got a glimpse into a Miami Heat team sans Bosh. And the result was a 93-89 loss at home to the Atlanta Hawks -- Miami's fourth-straight loss.

Sure he's not flashy or charismatic or a big name, like the other two. He doesn't get the cool commercials or his own cartoon show. But last night the Heat sure as shit missed Chris Bosh and his sweet mid-range jumpers and occasional screaming into the air after made baskets.
LeBron poured in 34 and added 10 rebounds, but missed a pair of game-winning three-point shots during both the end of regulation, and the end of overtime. Way to go, jerk!

Meanwhile, Dwyane Wade added 27 points of his own. The dynamic duo kept things together for the Heat as long as they could. But discovered a new-found appreciation for all things Bosh.

The rest of the Heat, in true form, delivered giant pieces of turd, with Eddie House leading the shit-procession with 12 points. Mario Chalmers scored 10 points, which was actually 10 more than what Carlos Arroyo was able to contribute.

Joel Anthony was forced to start in Bosh's place. And while he's lovingly referred to as The Warden by Heat fans for his deft play on the defensive end of the court, Anthony is not as adroit on the offensive side. Anthony grabbed 16 rebounds, which is an absurd amount of rebounds, but scored no points. It was that kind of night for dudes not named LeBron or Wade.

Erik Spoelstra tried to make up for Bosh's absence by starting Zydrunas Ilgauskas alongside Anthony, giving the Heat starting rotation two centers slower than a resetting DirecTV receiver (unplug it, wait 10 seconds, and then plug it back in!!!). It was a cruel forced experiment with predictable results. Just two points scored between the two big men -- both by Ilgauskas.

The Heat are now 1-7 in games decided by five points or less. Which means if Miami isn't completely obliterating teams by twenty, they end up on the losing end. It's a troubling trend that'll need to be fixed come playoff time, because the Heat won't be facing the Wisconsin Vaginas in the postseason. They'll be facing real teams who will always keep things close. It would be of great benefit if LeBron, Wade and Bosh's ankles didn't up and explode on us, either.

The loss now cuts Miami's lead in the Southeast to two games and drops them to two and half behind Boston in the overall conference standings.

Miami hosts Toronto on Saturday, giving the Heat three days to recoup from injuries. Or three days to find a way to infect Zydrunas Ilgauskas with some gamma rays.